(HALIFAX, NS) – Canada’s Ocean Supercluster (OSC) and the Department of National Defence (DND) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), establishing a framework for collaboration to strengthen Canada’s marine sensing capability ecosystem and advance ocean innovation in support of Canada’s national interests.
Canada’s ocean domain is strategically important to the country’s national defence, security, and sovereignty, including across the Arctic, all coastal regions, and offshore environments. The MoU recognizes the importance of collaboration between Canada’s network of ocean innovation companies and National Defence, particularly as advanced marine sensing technologies become increasingly important to marine domain awareness, operational effectiveness, and informed decision-making in an era defined by global volatility and technological disruption.
Through the MoU, OSC and DND will explore opportunities to collaborate on activities related to Canada’s marine sensing capability ecosystem such as:
Strategic engagement, collaboration, and convening across Canada’s ocean and defence innovation communities;
Increasing awareness and understanding of Canadian marine sensing capabilities and technologies;
Exploring opportunities for pilots, testing and technology demonstration; and
Supporting inclusive engagement with industry, research, Indigenous and other partners across Canada.
This partnership will strengthen Canada’s marine sensing capability ecosystem, supporting both ocean innovation and Canadian sovereign capability objectives.
As Canada’s national ocean cluster, the OSC brings together more than 1,000 member organizations across the country to build industrial capacity in areas including Arctic and surveillance, blue food, marine decarbonization and ocean energy. The OSC also serves as Canada’s co-lead of the Global Blue Tech Cluster Alliance, connecting Canada’s ocean innovation ecosystem with leading blue technology cluster networks internationally.
To date, the OSC has accelerated the development and commercialization of nearly 170 made-in-Canada ocean innovation projects, representing a portfolio of close to $700 million in total project value. These projects are delivering more than 300 new, globally relevant products and services, including dual use solutions in marine domain awareness, uncrewed and autonomous systems, advanced sensors and hardware, data fusion and edge computing, digital twins, and systems integration.
The formalized working relationship between OSC and DND demonstrates the growing intersection between ocean innovation and national defence and security, where technologies developed for commercial ocean applications can also support a range of marine, Arctic and surveillance requirements.
Noah Note: OSC is not only one of the largest representatives of Canada’s Blue economy, but also among the largest such organizations on Earth. They represent over a thousand organizations from research institutions, SME, Indigenous groups, and more. They are absolutely an important partner to building the Maritime economy, and maintaining an active and expanding relationship to the DND is critical to maintaining momemtum and building domestic capacity across our maritime sector.
I love these kind of MOU, I know most people don't care, but I like seeing MOU thrown out there. They have an important role and are a critical step to wider partnerships.